I want to state an intention then find the time to write about the conceptual differences between the phrases “Food Security” and “Food Sovereignty.” I stand with Food Sovereignty, which is: rooting our food closer and closer to people and home and less and less reliant on manufacture and distribution through large economic and financial systems.

If you look at this graphic you might feel a narrowing in your gut. It goes against the grain of the wisdom proclaimed by Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food. If you want you can read his report here or read about it in this summary piece on Truth-Out called The Transformative Potential of the Right to Food. We really need to buck the trends and claim back our power as citizens not consumers, growers not shoppers, participants in ever smaller circles of economy. The concentration of agricultural land and power in the hands of Big Players is a dangerous game especially in light of climate unpredictability.

This concentration of ownership is a global trend, but here in the UK, so many of us Social Optimists have placed faith in The Cooperative, which is now in dubious financial trouble and selling off its resources. Please support, if only with a signature, even better with activism as a member, to halt the fire sale of Co-op Farms, which are a resource that smaller, less financially solvent buyers might want a shot at owning.